Determination of Mercury in Gold Ores by CVAAS Method

Abstract

G is recovered from gold ores. Within the ores, there are not only gold but also several types of precious metals. Copper, silver, and platinum group elements (ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, rhenium, osmium, and iridium) are metals commonly found in the ores. These metals combine to form an ore because they have the same properties. It is due to their position in periodic-system-of-elements which are near to gold. However, there is no previous study that mention the presence of mercury in every gold ores, even though it is located right next to gold in the periodic-system-of-elements and they are located in the same block, d-block. But, it is possible that mercury is contained in the ores. Moreover, the elements of the same group with mercury-zinc and cadmium-sometimes can be found in the ores. It is suspected that mercury cannot be detected because the processing of gold ores is usually done using fire assay method. Before the ores melt, mercury would evaporate because it has the lowest boiling point when compared to all precious metals in the ores. Therefore, it suggested to do research on the presence of mercury in gold ores using CVAAS method. The results of this study would obtain the amount of mercury in gold ores that should be purified. So it can be produced economically if possible.